The Louisiana Democrat. [volume] (Alexandria, La.) 1845-1918, 1887-05-11
GRAND LESSONS.'
Which Science Has Drawn From
Investigating the Moon.
Its insignificant Mountain Ranges and
Huge Craters-The Denuding Forces
of Moon and Earth and Their
EfYects-Lunar Seas.

Full of interest is the lesson taught
by the moon. For there on her surface
remain, still extant, still retaining
their ring form, such craters as have
not existed on the earth during mill
ions of past years.
The interest of our lunar les
about the earth's past eliminates, to
my mind, when we consider the signifi-
canoe of those few ranges of mount
aims which exist on the moon. We see
at once that we can not explain this
feature, as we can explain the COM
parative smallness of the terrestrial
craters as due to the disappearance of
elevations formerly existing. If the
moon had ever had mountain ranges
corresponding with the Himalayas and
the Andes on the earth, such ranges
would still exist upon her airless and
waterless surface. Ranges as impo or
tant as either of these may have existed
on the earth in past ages and since dis
appeared. Indeed we know that the
very size of the Himalayas and Andes
attest their comparative youth. The
Dofrefjelds, in Scandinavia, are much
less elevated, because they are much
older and have experienced much more
wear and tear, and still older mountain
ranges which may formerly have
lowered to even greater heights
have doubtless long since yielded
to the denuding forces which re-
side in air and water worked by the
mighty hand of terrestrial gravity.
But we know that on the moon the
denuding forces were so much weaker
and acted during so much shorter a
time that assuredly it would not be
because of their action that fewer and
less lofty mountain ranges would ex-
lst on the moon than on the earth;
The answer to what at first seems
enlgmatical is seen to be altogether
simple so soon as we consider what
mountain ranges are. So long as ge-
ologists regarded them as mere prod
ucts of upheaval one could recognize
no reason why the mountain ranges on
the moon should not be relatively as
numerous and important as tho I, on
the earth. But biologists no niger
regard them thus. They know tl the
masses out of which our mo- ktain
ranges have been carved and chiseled
by denuding forces were themselves
products of denudation. Instead of
being upheaved our mountain ranges
were deposited; instead of indicating
steady uprising, they speak of the
steady down-sinking of the crust
where their crests now appear.
In the case of the Alps. the
Himalayas, the Rocky mountains. and
other such ranges as comparative youth |
ESQ that enough of their structure still
remains to speak of their past history, |
we find that layer after layer of mat
ter, the product be it remembered, of |
denudation, was deposited beneath the
surface Of the sea- along gradually
sinking trough-like depressions, until
thickness of more than ten miles was
IN many places attained. Then. in
oced' process of uprising began. Yet
even that resulted from a much more
important process of down-sinking or
contraction. Immense areas contracting
an around the long THOUGHTFUL of de-
posted matter, this matter was gradu-
ally forced up-shouldered up, as it
"ere' like an immense seam in the
crust OF the earth. We still find evil
aehce OF the tremendous energy of the
forces which then acted on the deep
layers OF deposited matter; for these,
oeSpite their vast mass, despite their
leh-mlle thickness, were twisted and
tortured U and heaved so irresistibly
Enough slowly that the heat de-
seloped in the process metamorphosed
Inc material of the rocks until in MANY
regions all trace of the sedimentary
character they originally had disap-
'eared. In many eases layers of inn
nense thickness once horizontal were
armed up vertically; in some cases
'uch layers were absolutely inverted.
Then came the work of yet other
nyrlads of years q use the words in
heir literal sense, meaning tens of
thousands of years. of denuding
processes. quarrying the mountain
leaks out of the surrounding masses of
lard yet more yielding material. This
alter denuding work. however, unlike
lie former, went to reduce the height
NJ the mountain range Every thou
and years in the earlier stages of de-
lundation had added to the mass of
Material out of which that range was
o be formed.
Can we wonder if on the moon where
forces have been SO much